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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26921182">Timber</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapono/pseuds/rapono'>rapono</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>To find belonging where it shouldn't be [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dead by Daylight (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Evan is stubborn, Fluff, Gen, Head Injury, Jake is stubborn, Swearing, Water is wet, fearing for life, knocked unconscious</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:29:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,580</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26921182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapono/pseuds/rapono</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake had just been following the directon that Dwight had gone. Sure, he knew that Dwight had befriended a couple of killers outside of the trials, but he didn't think they'd attack him, especially with Dwight around. He unfortunately had forgotten, for just a moment, that the Trapper was one of them, until the killer that he'd sabotaged countless traps of locked eyes with him. He was so screwed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dwight Fairfield &amp; Evan MacMillan | The Trapper, Dwight Fairfield &amp; Philip Ojomo | The Wraith, Evan MacMillan | The Trapper &amp; Jake Park, Evan MacMillan | The Trapper/Philip Ojomo | The Wraith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>To find belonging where it shouldn't be [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1434775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>80</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Timber</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Guess who finally wrote a part 3 over a year later? That's me baby! I've been hit with a good dose of inspiration lately, and have been digging up and finishing old WIPs. </p><p>If you're new to this series, I'd highly recommend reading the other fics first, as they provide alot of context to this one.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite his affirmations from Jake, Dwight still found himself seeking out the pair of killers. Sure, if he needed just a little comfort or a hug, he felt like he could ask Jake, but sometimes he just wanted to hang out with the pair.</p><p>Jake followed him, sometimes, when he went out with the intent to meet them, but often left him before he ever reached the meet up spot. He often claimed that he was just checking up on him or making sure he wouldn’t get caught by any other killers on the way, but regardless of the true intent, Dwight knew it was because he cared flrr him.</p><p>Dwight didn’t mind. He'd even invited him to stick with him, but Jake always refused his offer in the end. It didn’t bother him, after all, he knew Jake wasn't really a people person, so he never pushed him to do it.</p><p>Today was one of those days, where he went out to meet them.</p><p>Currently, Dwight found himself seated on Philip's lap, as Evan was retelling a story from his days before the entity snatched him up, of days before his father had tightened his grip on his son.</p><p>Both him and Philip were engaged, only interrupting to ask a question if they felt the need. It was interesting, to hear about a time long before the two to them lived, like a history lesson except not boring and without a test at the end of it.</p><p>And so they were unaware of the guest approaching their gathering.</p><p>Jake still checked on Dwight every now and then when he’d go out to visit, often a little ways away and just out of sight. Sure, he was pretty confident that the Wraith wouldn’t hurt him, especially after that one incident, but the Trapper still worried him.</p><p>Jake had only meant to peek in and then take his leave, as he had done many times before, but a part of the story caught his interest, and he found himself with the sudden need to hear more. So cautiously, Jake began to approach them.</p><p>As Jake entered the edge of the clearing, a twig snapped beneath his feet, bringing the attention of the trio all on him. Evan quickly went silent.</p><p>Dwight was mildly surprised, not expecting Jake to follow him again, let alone attempt to join them. He hadn't even noticed him tailing him this time, as Jake sometimes made his presence known when he was following him. He shrugged it off and gave him a wave.</p><p>“Hey Jake!”</p><p>Jake glanced at him before his friend's attention was quickly snatched by another member of the group, his expression turning to terror as he did so.</p><p>Evan had locked eyes with Jake, the two staring at each other, frozen in their matched gazes. One full of fear, the other rage.</p><p>Evan broke the medusa curse first, quickly rising to his feet, and in response, Jake turned on his heel and bolted into the trees. Without a moment of hesitation, Evan chased after him, not even bothering to pick up his weapon first, only focused on keeping the smaller saboteur in sight.</p><p>Philip tried to call for Evan to come back, but he was too late. He’d disappeared after the saboteur between the trees. He sighed, deciding to stay at their little camp-out with Dwight, running his fingers through the survivor’s hair absent mindedly.</p><p>“Do you think Jake’s gonna be okay?”</p><p>Philip wanted to reassure Dwight, but he also didn’t want to lie to him. So he just shrugged and grumbled, watching the treeline for signs of their return.<br/>
<br/>
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</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
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The entity might not have let him see scratch marks outside of trials, but Evan remained determined not to loose him. The bastard survivor tried to weave between the trees, attempting to make a sudden turn and lose him, but Evan's eyes remained glued to his prize.</p><p>And he was catching up.</p><p>He could hear the brat's breaths come faster, his attempts to weave turning into running a straight line ahead, as the survivor’s desperation grew as he grew closer.</p><p>And then in a last ditch effort, the saboteur clambered up a tree. A close call too, as Evan's hand just barely missed grabbing his ankle.</p><p>He craned his head upward to watch him climb, both annoyed and impressed at how he seemed to ascend it like a raccoon.</p><p>“You just gonna stay up there like a scared rodent?”</p><p>“Yeah, so what?”</p><p>A beat of silence.</p><p>“I can wait.”</p><p>“And so can I.”</p><p>And a standstill it was, neither backing down, Evan too stubborn and Jake too terrified.</p><p>And then he heard a crack.</p><p>Evan spotted the shape of the survivor plummet downward, hitting another branch before continuing his earthbound journey. On instinct he moved, moving to where he hoped the saboteur would land, in hopes of catching him.</p><p>The catch was a bit rough, but definitely softer than if he had let him hit the ground. As Evan adjusted his grip to keep his catch from slipping from his arms, he quickly realized that the boy's body was limp. </p><p>There was blood on the back of his head, making it easily to deduce what had happened. The branch the kid had collided with on the way down had hit him on the head, knocking him out cold.</p><p>Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about him running away anymore.</p><p>Of course, this meant a new problem had arisen. He couldn’t really teach him a lesson if he was unconscious.</p><p>So unsure what to do with the limp survivor in his arms, Evan decided to sling him over his shoulder, like he had many times before, and return to the small gathering.<br/>
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Both Dwight and Philip were visibly distressed when Evan returned with Jake hanging limply over his shoulder. Philip looked like he wanted to slap his husband, while Dwight looked more afraid.</p><p>“What did you d-"</p><p>“Calm down, I didn’t do anything.” Philip gave him a disbelieving glare. “Honest. He climbed up a tree and fell, hit his head real bad.” </p><p>He carefully pulled the saboteur off his shoulder, cradling the unconscious survivor in his arms once more. He took a seat beside the two, flipping jake onto his stomach as he gently prodded around the back of his head. Blood and chips of wood were encrusted in his hair, and although not very visable, he was able to find where the flesh was raw. Dwight and Philip both grimaced at the sight of it.</p><p>“See? I didn’t cut him with my blade.”</p><p>Philip nodded, believing that he really wasn’t lying about it, as Dwight cautiously poked at the wound.</p><p>“What exactly did he hit?”</p><p>“Tree branch. One broke on him as he was climbing, and his head hit another as he fell. I’m pretty sure that’s what knocked him out, as he was unconscious when I caught him.”</p><p>Dwight nodded, and left the wound alone. The kid settled back into Philip's lap, and turned his gaze up at Evan, worry clear in his eyes. </p><p>“What are you gonna do with him then? Are you still gonna hurt him?”</p><p>Fuck. Evan felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face. He still really wanted to teach the brat a lesson, but Philip <i>and</i> Dwight were here, and he knew they would protest.</p><p>And well, maybe he'd already been punished a little, with his little falling incident.</p><p>“Nothing, at least not while he’s unconscious. I’m just gonna hold onto him, make sure the little trap breaker doesn’t get away.”</p><p>Dwight still had a look of worry and concern, but he nodded, looking away from him, seemingly conflicted despite his agreement.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>Damnit, now he felt bad.</p><p>Evan didn’t want to admit it, his pride be damned, but he never truly intended on seriously harming Jake. Sure, he’d always threatened and loudly stated that if he got his hands on the slippery bastard, he’d tear him from limb to limb, but in reality, the only thing he really wanted was to scare the kid enough to make him cut that shit out.</p><p>But Evan was a stubborn man, so instead of reassuring the pair next to him, he simply adjusted Jake into a more comfortable position, holding him tight, and said nothing. All that was left to do now, was wait.<br/>
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<hr/><p><br/>
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Jake woke up with a throbbing headache. He leaned back and pressed against something soft, as he slowly began to come to.</p><p>Damn, he should’ve known entity’s trees were unreliable. He'd fallen from trees before, but never that badly. At least he had died before the Trapper could get his hands on him.</p><p>He felt something wrap around his midsection, pulling him in closer to the soft and warm thing he was leaning against.</p><p>
  <i>Wait.</i>
</p><p>Coming to his senses, Jake opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, quickly realizing where he was. He was in the Trapper’s lap, the killer's arms tightly wrapped around him.</p><p>Oh, he hadn't died in the fall.</p><p>Jake immediately tried to bolt for it, struggle out of the Trapper’s grasp, but the killer already had a strong hold on him, his grasp unwavering. Nonetheless, Jake attempted to squirm fruitlessly, with no hope of overpowering the thick arms holding him down, only his spite and defiance keeping him going.</p><p>“Oh, Jake’s awake.”</p><p>The voice of Dwight cut through his panic, causing him to stop his squirms abruptly, as he turned to where he is heard the voice come from.</p><p>Dwight was comfortly seated in the lap of the Wraith, both his fellow survivor and the killer giving him a concerned look.</p><p>“Yeah, and he’s not going anywhere.”</p><p>With that statement, Jake’s struggles began anew, thrashing wildly despite the headache that started to grow. Yet his effort still reaped nothing, unable to break out of the Trapper’s unwavering hold.</p><p>“Stop struggling brat, you’re just gonna hurt yourself more.”</p><p>He did feel dizzy, head throbbing the more he struggled, but he wasn’t about to admit such weakness to the Trapper. He needed to get away, before the killer got around to enacting his revenge for all the sabotaging he’d done.</p><p>“Evan, please let him go.”</p><p>It was Dwight’s voice this time, causing Jake to pause from mild surprise. He'd almost forgotten he was there, along with the Wraith. Both of them were shooting a look at the Trapper.</p><p>“He- he’s just gonna hurt himself.” There was a slightly unexpected hint of concern in the killer's otherwise irritated tone, Jake believing he had to have imagined it.</p><p>“Evan, please.”</p><p>The Trapper shifted his hold on him, seemingly contemplating. Jake silently wished he'd listen, not struggling in hopes of having favor.</p><p>Evan sighed, sounding defeated.</p><p>“…fine.”</p><p>And with that, the arms of steel released their hold on him. Jake didn’t even give it a second thought as he immediately stumbled to his feet and bolted away.</p><p>He didn’t get far before a sudden wave of dizziness hit him, vision wavering before he quickly lost his balance. Still having all the momentum of his run, he tripped and hit the ground hard, head first. His headache returned worse than before, as the rest of his body collapsed to the earth.</p><p>He couldn’t get back up.</p><p>Jake's vision was blurred and spinning, all attempts to push himself back up immediately resulting in him losing balance and falling to the dirt once again. His whole body ached, but the pain from his head was agonizing. He couldn’t tell if the warm wetness was blood, snot, tears, or a disgusting mix of all three. </p><p>He could hear voices, likely the Trapper and Dwight, as the Wraith barely spoke, and only in a hushed and strained voice the rare times he did so. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, lost in a disorienting hell of pain and dizziness. </p><p>Eventually, he became vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps approaching him. Too heavy to be Dwight's, but with the distinct sound of soles hitting dirt. He didn’t need to try to make out the blurry grinning shape to know who it was.</p><p>“Told you you’d hurt yourself.”</p><p>He sounded more disappointed than annoyed, with barely any hint of a smug “I told you so". Just disappointed that he hasn't listened.</p><p>Jake tried to scoot away and get up again, but found his efforts just as effective as before. Evan sighed.</p><p>“Damnit, stop struggling saboteur, you're just gonna injure yourself more.”</p><p>Jake made a strained whining noise as the Trapper leaned down to pick him up, doing so with surprising care. Still, the moment the bloodstained and callsoused hands were on him, Jake squirmed. He could still barely make out what the Trapper was doing, his vision still spinning.  So even though he could guess what the killer was doing, the touch still came as a surprise.</p><p>“Jake stop squirming! You're gonna make me drop you!”</p><p>Jake almost said “good, that’s the point,” but he also knew another drop right now could cause him to blackout again. So instead, he decided to listen. Dwight had gotten the killer to let him go before, so he took that as a glimmer of hope that his friend would stop any harm from coming to him.</p><p>He was only vaguely aware that he went from being carried to being seated, his back and head leaned up against the Trapper's chest once more, but now the hands and arms were simply holding him upright, not restraining him. He barely paid attention to what was being said, only catching the words “medkit” and “idiot”. His head still throbbed and ached, but slowly, this sight stopped spinning, and the pain started to lessen. He felt himself slowly starting to succumb to unconsciousness.</p><p>Jake wasn't sure how much time had passed, when without warning, a cool damp cloth was pressed against his forehead. The sudden sensation of cold caused him to jolt awake from is half conscious state, looking around in confusion. </p><p>The Trapper was wiping his face with a damp piece of fabric, chuckling at Jake's reaction.</p><p>“You’re awake. Thought you’d passed out on me.”</p><p>Despite the fact that the Trapper was seemingly now attempting to treat his wounds, Jake stuck his tongue out at him.</p><p>“Ah, just as defiant as ever.” Evan chuckled. “Got a problem with authority kid?”</p><p>Jake shakily raised his arm and flipped the killer off.</p><p>Evan shook his head and sighed, before focusing back on cleaning the saboteur’s face and wounds. Jake glared up at him, despite the kind gesture he was being giving, still untrusting.</p><p>The Trapper was smiling. Not his usual malicious smile, the one that he made when he saw that Jake had stepped into one of his traps, but a warm one. It was as if the bastard actually cared.</p><p>Perhaps this was why Dwight had taken a liking to him. Sure, he'd seen and met the Wraith, Philip, outside of the trials, outside of the entity's need for bloodshed, but even Philip had warned him about Evan.</p><p>Yet, here he was, treating the head wound that had caused Jake to be at the killer's mercy, and he hasn't really taken advantage of it, apart from not letting him run away. Instead, <i>he</i> was the one who was making sure he didn’t hurt himself more.</p><p>Maybe, just maybe, he'd sabotage less traps. Just a maybe. That shit really hurt to step in.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fun fact: The beta title for this fic was "Jake gets vibe checked by a tree".</p><p>Also yes, some of this was written before they removed the ability to sabotage beartraps, so no need to tell me that I'm "wrong" about that detail. Jake is still the scourge of Trapper because of his trap breaking habits in my heart.</p><p>Also apologies if the perspective shifting was a bit funky, I kinda wrote a bunch of this at 4am.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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